He didn’t even try. If ever there’s a time to add a few French sentences to the teleprompter, it’s when discussing the tragic death of a francophone employee, pilot Antoine Forest. (Pilot Mackenzie Gunther of Ontario also died.) And Rousseau had promised to learn French back in 2021 after facing a similar backlash. Five years and 300 hours of language classes later, this was the best he could do? No wonder critics questioned his empathy, commitment and, frankly, his ability to learn. As one CEO put it: “He brought this on himself.”
Ousted Air Canada CEO failed to speak French—and forgot the basics of crisis leadership
